Silicon Valley (2014 - 2019) is an American sitcom which follows the struggles and adventures of Richard Hendricks on his journey from programmer to entrepreneur, as he tries to build his own tech startup, Pied Piper, from scratch.
IMDb synopsis much? Well.. this is where it ends.
Over the years, “Silicon Valley” has been hyped in pop culture, not solely as a tech-rich area of California, but as a lifestyle founded on technology.
A parody of the Silicon Valley culture, this HBO production is a must-see for entrepreneurs trying to navigate the business world. The protagonist, Richard Hendricks, is an ace programmer who sets out to build a company around his computer algorithm, and can be seen struggling with the “business side of things”. 5 minutes into S01E02, he is left dumbfounded when a prospective investor questions him on the basics of his business.
The show checks all the boxes that make for a great sitcom – a tech nerd, an Indian guy, a short white dude, basically the tried-and-tested “Big Bang” formula. Add to the mix their overly enthusiastic, know-it-all, stoner “boss” who delivers inspiring speeches like “Richard, when George Washington founded a little startup known as these States of America, when he was tired of taking shit from his CEO, the King of England, did he just roll over and take it from behind? No.” at regular intervals, and you’ve got yourself a laugh riot.
Loaded with business nomenclature and practices prevalent in the startup and venture capital world, the series provides for a simple yet effective way for aspiring entrepreneurs to become well versed in the terminology and practices of the business world.
The show typically demonstrates practices prevalent in the US. While certain nomenclatures and practices are standard across the globe, others may vary across jurisdictions. The portrayal in the show of the latter has to be tweaked in accordance with local laws or practices for a better understanding.
For example, what we call Articles of Association of a company in India are called bylaws in the US.
To bridge this gap, LexStart has initiated the “Silicon Valley LexGyaan series”, wherein we will be decoding the jargon and practices in each episode of the series and tweaking them in accordance with the law in India. This is to further our understanding of the practices in the startup ecosystem in India.
We picked Silicon Valley as it falls squarely within LexStart’s area of expertise. LexStart specializes in providing support on all aspects of starting and running a business in the early stage ecosystem and helping negotiate complex transaction documents. Our team of lawyers and company secretaries work with startups, incubators, accelerators and investors, helping them navigate through the various legal and regulatory challenges to structure deals.